Once Upon A December
by Skyla Pearl
Summary: Arry doesn't remembers a single thing about her past nor who she is. When she makes a deal with Gendry Waters to act like she's the missing Arya Stark to get money off the remaining Starks, she starts seeing a malevolent force following her, has memories too similar to Arya's past, and finds Gendry increasingly infuriating (and attractive). Inspired by the movie Anastasia (1997).
1. Chapter 1: Dancing Bears, Painted Wings

_This was an idea based off a photoset I saw in the far corners of the Internet where they were paralleling Arya Stark's story to the movie Anastasia (aka one of my favorite movies as a child). This fic will contain characters from GoT and the plot based off Anastasia (I own neither)._

_**Chapter 1: Dancing Bears, Painted Wings**_

Arya Stark was in trouble again but she didn't care. She was dragged out of the fields with her brothers and once again placed in one of those frilly, but woolly dresses once more for the Stark's Winterfell Ball. Her father, Eddard "Ned" Stark was an important man, the Ward of The North, but Arya cared little about her family customs and rituals. She just wanted to get away from from the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the other families from other Houses, both Great and Minor.

She didn't know why she threw food at her sister Sansa (which hit directly into her forehead, much to her satisfaction), but she was immediately caught by the Kitchen Boy. No one else really saw her, not that she noticed, and despite Sansa making a scene, she only ran off before anyone could really take notice. Most of the partygoers were too busy dancing, anyway.

"Hey! It took Hot Pie forever to make those!" the boy said.

"Does it look like I care, stupid?" The boy was dumbfounded, his blue eyes staring into her grey ones in disdain. Arya's father, Ned suddenly appeared, holding one hand over Arya.

"I will take it from here, Mr. Waters," her father said. The boy have him a shaky smile.

"Yes, M'lord," he bowed and quickly left as though he weren't there.

"Arya," he said with his usual disapproval. "Why do you have to do that to your sister?"

"Because she's flirting with that little rat, Joffrey!" He narrowed his eyes at her. "And she's very annoying," she added. His gaze softened.

"What are we going to do with you, Arya? You're eight years old. Soon enough, you're going to grow into a fine noblewoman and marry and have children." Arya huffed at his words. She didn't need to be reminded of that for the thousandth time!

"But I don't want to become a noblewoman or marry _or_ have children! I want to go on adventures and practice swordfighting and exploring!" she said this with all of her vigor.

Ned sighed at what his daughter had to say. "We will talk about this in the morning." With that, her father left to go talk to his good friend Robert Baratheon. A few moments later, her half-brother Jon Snow appeared. Arya knew that he liked to be withdrawn from the crowds. Her mother didn't take kindly to him, but Arya loved him nevertheless. He was an outsider, much like her. He didn't belong here in this elegant party like Sansa or Robb did.

"That was a nice throw," said Jon.

"Thank you." She gave him a genuine smile.

Jon's face drew closer to her ear. "Come with me, I need to show you something." Arya perked up and evaded the those dancing with success as she followed her brother away into the halls. "I got this made for you the other day." His hands went towards his hip as he unbuckled the small sword strapped to his waist. Arya's eyes widened as he unsheathed the tiny sword.

"Is that really for me?"

"Look." The sword was lovely. It was tiny and silver with a sharp end to it. "Do you like it, little sister?"

"Like it, I love it!" She grabbed the hilt of it and stabbed forward into the air. She caught the kitchen boy with the black hair and blue eyes staring. Before she could yell at him for invading this special moment, he fled. Arya ignored the idiot and hugged her brother.

"I think you should name your sword. Every sword's got to have a name."

Arya thought of a list of possible names. She didn't think it was appropriate for it to have names other Great Swords had nor did she want to name it after anyone at all. She thought of how her family emphasized honor and duty when all that was just sitting around and doing needlework. "Needle. That's what I'll call it."

Jon chuckled, his dark curls bouncing on his face as he did. "That's a fine name. You know how to use it right? You stick 'em with the pointy end!"

"But I know that already, brother!" They both laughed again in unison. Arya didn't want this moment to end, but eventually there came the lull in their conversation. Jon once again had his usual dire expression on his face.

"I want you to have this as well." He took off his grey Stark brooch and pinned it to her dress.

"But-"

"This really shouldn't be on me. You're more worthy of it." They both knew that he was going to head out to the Night's Watch first thing in the morning. In a sort of way, this party was sort of a last hurrah for him. Arya hugged him again.

_**Boom**_

"What was that?" they both said out loud. A loud scream was heard from a voice that sounded too much like Arya's mother. Immediately, Jon and Arya peered over into the ballroom to find not only a flurry of guests running around the room chaotically, but the large candlelit chandelier on the floor, broken to pieces, the carpet with the Direwolf insignia was set on fire. On the carpet, Arya could see several dead bodies that were hit on impact, one of them being that of Ned Stark's. Arya didn't know how that happened or who caused that chandelier to fall, but before she could scream, Jon clamped his hand over her mouth.

"We need to escape." Jon paused, noticing that the partygoers had a hard time leaving as all of the main doors were locked and the windows sealed shut.

"HEY!" A voice interrupted. It was the kitchen boy. "I know a secret passage out through the servant's quarters. Follow me!" _It looks like this stupid boy isn't so stupid_, thought Arya. They went through the small maze that was the servant's quarters just beyond the kitchen. It was already depleted of its servants, as they probably were the first to escape.

They ended up in the underground catacombs, where Aunt Lyanna, Uncle Brandon, their grandparents, and ancestors were buried.

"Thank you, young man," said Jon.

"I should go back in and see who else I can save. Go to the stables and get on a horse over to the next town. Good luck!" The boy retreated back into the quarters. Neither Arya nor Jon didn't notice this, but her brooch had unpinned itself from her and dropped to the snow covered floor.

"He's brave," Arya said. "Brave, but stupid." She could smell Winterfell burning. She hoped she could see her mother and her siblings again as soon as this blows over. She didn't even have enough time to register her father's death.

"We need to go!"

"Where should we go?"

"North."

"North? But it's freezing!"

The sense of urgency was renewed when the smell of smoke filled their lungs. "Come on!" They were trudging their way through the snow and Arya really wished she wasn't in this stupid blue dress. All it did was slow her down. She felt Needle wiggling alongside her waist. She was ready to pull out if she needed to.

The next thing she knew, something, no _someone_ plopped right behind her, seemingly out of nowhere and holding onto her foot. It was a woman with magnificent red hair. She wore nothing but a red cloak. She was mysterious to Arya and unlike anyone or anything she had ever seen. She didn't know why she was here or who sent her.

"Get away from her!" screamed Jon as he kicked the woman. Her arms broke free of Arya. The woman stood still, her red eyes pulling back so that only the whites could be seen. It scared Arya. The next thing she knew, the horses from the stables all broke free of their stalls, running in a frenzied state. Because there was a large group of people around, there were even more horses than usual running about. Arya was scared that she could get trampled by one of them due to her tiny size.

"We need to get on one of them!" Jon said. He held Arya close to him so that they wouldn't get tramped by the many horses headed their way. "When I count to three, we get on a horse." He extended his hand. "One...two..." A horse knocked over Jon through its muzzle. He quickly got back up on his feet again."One...two...THREE!" He and Arya were on a white stallion who was, as all of the horses, out of control. Jon tried to steer him the best he cool. "Arya, whatever this horse does, you need to hold on!"

Arya was silent as Jon kept trying to tame the horse, but to no avail. The horse ran faster than any she had ever been on and when Arya took a quick glance at the horizon, there was nothing but smoke clouding over Winterfell. The skies were red as that woman's eyes, eyes that she promised herself she would never forget.

The woods were dark and terrifying and the horse kept acting wild. "Will you ever calm down?"

As if on cue, the horse came to a halt and began shaking rapidly as though trying to wiggle its two occupants out. It bucked forward, then backwards. At this, Arya lost her grip on Jon's back. He quickly managed to use his lighting-fast reflexes to hold her hand as she dangled on the horse, who now decided to make its run again at an even _faster_ pace, which seemed to go beyond the impossible.

"JON!"

"Don't let go of my hand!" She felt it slipping as it got sweatier and sweatier. There was a large hill below her and if she let go, she would certainly get lost in these woods for who knows how long. All of a sudden, her body collided with a nearby tree and the impact caused her to let go of her brother and tumble through the endless hills, ending all the way at the bottom when she slammed headfirst into a rock.

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Rumor in Winterfell

_I do not own Anastasia nor Game of Thrones/ASOIAF. _

_**Chapter 2- Rumor In Winterfell **_

_10 Years Later_

Winterfell was crowded today. Sandor Clegane hated crowds. He was here during the Great Winterfell Raid ten years ago that killed Ned and Catelyn Stark, as well as King Robert Baratheon, which made Joffrey King of the Iron Throne. He was lucky enough to have escaped with an inch of his life along with his empty-headed employer, Joffrey. It helped that he was always close to the door due to his fear of the candles up above. The moment that happened, he took Joffrey with him and bolted.

Sandor looked back during his time with Joffrey, as three years ago, he got so annoyed at the little prick that he quit being his dog. It wasn't doing him any good right now, as it was the Lannisters who were in charge of the seven kingdoms, who were once the same family who employed him. He had nowhere to go at this point after betraying them for the Stark girl and now was living on enemy grounds.

Times were tough, as the poor were getting even poorer and the rich...well, there was a reason "rich as a Lannister" was important. As of what happened to the Starks, the only known living Stark was Sansa, the poor, broken little bird who took salvation through the Lannisters after the incident. She was engaged to Joffrey for seven years, but after Sandor witnessed her getting slapped in the face by that despicable excuse of a human being that was her betrothed, he smuggled her out of King's Landing and into the Vale to seek refuge with her Aunt Lysa. When Lysa died over a year ago, Sandor accompanied Sansa to Braavos. Soon after, their bastard brother Jon joined her as he was hidden within Castle Black. He said he was set to join the Night's Watch, but he was unable to after seeing his family torn apart like that. The Night's Watch didn't approve or accept noblemen whose hearts were somewhere else and clearly, Jon's was not in the correct place to join.

Sansa had something of a target on her back, as she wasn't the only known Stark who survived. The oldest Stark child, Robb, made a campaign against those who had wronged him and killed his parents. He managed to take down some of the most important people, but his efforts failed when he broke a promise to the Freys. The biggest mystery behind that Raid ten years ago was who was behind it. Many said they saw a woman in red. She was tall and mysterious and spoke with an accept no one could recognize. Many say it was Cersei Lannister who put her up to it. Many say it was young Aegon Targaryen back from the dead. Many say it was Sandor's own brother Gregor, but that one was easy to dispel. Gregor would have never hired someone do to the dirty work for him. He enjoyed killing and raping. That just wasn't how he worked.

Sandor wasn't much for rumors, but as he walked through the crowds of Winterfell, that was all he could hear.

"Did you hear?" A peasant man spoke to him.

"Did you?" A woman pressed on.

Sandor rolled his eyes.

"Have you heard? There's a rumor here in Winterfell?"

"Have you heard?" Sandor was getting frustrated at these smallfolk as they prattled about.

_**"What?!"**_he roared. The smallfolk stopped dead in their tracks at the tall, scarred man.

"They say Princess Arya is alive!" They went back to their duties and ignored him as they sung around.

"They say her royal sister and bastard brother will pay hefty sum," said a fortune teller on one of the stands. Sandor's ears perked up at this. Money? Sandor went running, no longer feeling out of place within this crowd. He had to find him.

Sandor went to the blacksmith, but he was not there. The only option was to go to the castle, where he sometimes stared at the royal portrait. Sandor went up the stairs and opened the door-

"-Sandor." Then he hard a whistle. He turned his back to see just the person he was looking for: Gendry Waters. He was standing slumped against the wall, holding his coat in a sleek manner. There was something familiar about Gendry, which is why Sandor took something of a liking to the boy, despite being a snarky smoothtalker. He already knew. That explained why he was so dressed up and ready to go.

They walked back into the crowd, where merchants were now trying to sell items they claimed once belonged to Arya Stark. Gendry did buy a stole from a merchant who claimed to have gotten it from the castle. Even if it wasn't real, it still felt nice to the touch.

"I already checked into this. Everything is going to plan. All we need is the girl," Gendry said when they were alone. "Just think, Sandor. No more stealing, no more pretending to be noblemen, this is going to be our ticket out of here. And it's going to be all because of Princess Arya!" Gendry started fluttering about. Sandor saw it as kind of silly, but he didn't want to ruin the boy's moment. "We'll find a girl to play the part, we'll teach her what to say, we'll dress her nice, and introduce her to that family. Imagine the rewards those dear Starks would pay?"

That was the only part where Sandor's interest lied. That and to see the beautiful Little Bird once more, but he quickly shoved that thought aside.

"Who else could pull it off, but you and me?"

"We'll be rich," Sandor said gruffly.

"This will be the single most greatest con in history."

He knew that Gendry was starting to feel whatever infection spread the crowd was giving him, but there was no way in hell Sandor would. Gendry started packing his bags as quickly as possible. Sandor was a little bit more ambivalent to this, and only took but a few things. Both headed out. By then, all he could see were pictures of Arya Stark on the castle walls with the caption "Alive or Dead? Who Knows?"

Sandor certainly didn't, but if it involved getting out of here and into Braavos again to see her once more, he was more than up to the challenge.

**I had two other choices as Vlad's role (Yoren or Hot Pie), but I love Sandor and I know I'd like to hear you tell me you love him too. This story has over 60 views and some favorites and alerts, which I consider to be an accomplishment but I'd love to know if this story is entertaining you. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Home Love Family

_None of this belongs to me (because I am not a part of Bantam books, Warner Bros. or HBO). I'm not even making OCs!_

_**Chapter 3: Home. Love. Family**_

The children at the orphanage were holding on as tight as possible to Arry. They didn't want her to leave. But the Mistress wanted her to go, as she was now old enough to go out and do things. Mistress was a short and stock lady who must have been in her sixties and her most notable feature, other than her severe look, was how low her breasts went. Arry was disturbed as to how they just were on par with her stomach.

"We'll miss you, Arry!"

"Yeah, Arry. You were the best."

"What will we ever do without you?"

"You'll survive," Arry told the little ones. She waived at them until they disappeared from sight. They knew the Mistress would beat them if they disobeyed.

"I got you a job selling fish straight from the Iron Islands. You go straight this way and you will eventually end up in a sign where it says Winterfell and then take a left where it says Torren's Square. Be glad I got you this job."

"Bye!" said Arry, ignoring her on purpose. Arry was disappointed to be leaving her friends behind, but she was glad to finally be leaving Mistress.

"LISTEN TO ME YOUNG LADY!" Arry immediately met her cold brown eyes. "You've been a thorn in my side since the day you stumbled onto my door, begging for food and water and warmth. You came in with bruises all over your body and a blood coming from your head. I could have left you in the cold, but no. You act like you're from one of the Great Noble Houses when you're really just another common girl. Be lucky I found you a job at the fish stall instead of the whorehouse. Then again, no one would want to see a horseface like you."

"See a horseface like you," Arry repeated. That was Mistress's favorite insult to latch onto her.

"Is that so? You come in not remembering a single thing about you and you remember all that?"

Arry's frustration was beginning to peak. She was going to show her a piece of her mind. She shoved Mistress into the snow. "That's for being awful and a terrible Mistress. I hope you suffer. In fact, I could do that right now." She unsheathed Needle from her waist.

Needle was the only possession she remembered she had on her when she awoke. She didn't call it Needle. Not until a few years ago when she was stitching together one of the holes in her shirt when the name came to her out of nowhere and so suddenly.

"You wouldn't," Mistress said, calling her bluff. Arry tore a hole in her sleeve as she watched Mistress's face contort in terror. She was having too much fun with this. Arry laughed.

"Well, I had my fun, but I should get going. Wouldn't want it to get dark before I get to Winterfell. There are direwolves everywhere. She left Mistress behind in the snow. When she was at a distance, she heard the creak of the gates closing one final time.

She had to admit she'd miss the place, but she was more than glad to get out.

Arry walked out of the tiny town the orphanage was located in. There wasn't much of there to explore and Arry spent her entire time walking thinking about the books she read growing up. She wanted to go out and explore the Known World. She wanted to see what was east of Essos. She wanted to see dragons and rescue people in distress (they didn't need to be damsels). She wanted to try new foods and smell new smells. However...

That wasn't really what she wanted. Not truly. Not like she didn't. Arry kicked the snow in frustration. "I don't know," she said out loud. She made lots of friend at the orphanage, but that came because she was the only one who stood up to Mistress all the time, but that wasn't bravery, that was just her being herself. Arry wasn't going to take anything from anyone. But those other children, they weren't...

Family.

Family. It was a word that sounded so foreign to her, yet it was what she truly wanted. She had to have a mother and a father and possibly a sibling or two.

Arry was at a crossroads. Literally. She came across a sign, just as Mistress said she would. To the left was Torren's Square. Winterfell was to the right. "If I go to Torren's Square and get that job, my life could be wasted. It'll be secure, but that's all I've ever be. Arry the Orphan. But, if I go to Winterfell, I could have more opportunities...or just live in an alleyway, begging for food." Arry was silent, knowing it was stupid to talk out loud when she was uncertain what creatures had a habitat in these woods. "Whoever gave me this sword must have loved me." She gazed at the complicated sheathe. She remembered how she woke up wearing a frilly blue dress that one morning and despite it being completely in tatters, the question needed to be answered. She had to be _someone_.

"Oh hell. What'd I'd do for a sign." She stared at one of the weirwood trees when she heard a howl. "Direwolves."

She stood there in fear. She knew that a direwolf could utterly destroy her to bits if provoked. "I'll just make my way now." The bushes in front of the sign began to rustle. Arry expected the worst and winced...

Out came a direwolf indeed, but it wasn't a huge one with large teeth as she was expecting. It was a pup. Arry breathed in a sigh of relief. Then she realized this was a pup without a mother with it. That could either mean it was looking for her or...

"Shoo. Go away." The direwolf pup just stood there, confused. "Go back to your mother." _Your mother who could eat me for dinner._

But the pup instead yawned and stretched its hind legs. It came closer to Arry. The direwolf started tugging on her scarf and retreated in Winterfell's direction. "Hey! HEY! THAT'S MINE! GIVE IT BACK!"

The tiny direwolf came to a halt and let the scarf down. She picked it up and gave the pup a glare. "Thank you." She put the scarf around her neck once more. The direwolf whined. "I'm guessing you don't have a home, do you?"

The direwolf shook its head. "Or a family." The same response was given.

"Do you want to come with me?" The direwolf got up on its legs again and her yellow eyes looked pleasing. "Okay then. But I have to name you." She went through a list of names. The pup looked elated as Arry went through her memories of the worn out books she read at the orphanage. She though of Visenya, but it didn't suit the dog and neither did Alyssa. Then she thought of Nymeria, the woman who conquered Dorne all by herself. "Nymeria." The little direwolf howled, content at the name.

The two made their trek to Winterfell and she considered stopping by the inn with her little amount of money, but she was going to have a hard time explaining her direwolf companion to the innkeepers. She walked for as long as she could, though she started to worry about her decision when the sun was starting to set.

Then she saw something on the orange horizon: a large fortress. Arry was amazed at how beautiful and gray it was as it contrasted the mostly orange, reds, and pinks the sky had to offer. The stone structure reminded her of her own eyes. Arry ran to appreciate the scenery. She would make it to Winterfell just in time for supper. But for now, she was going to enjoy the cold beauty of this place.

Then she was going to find her family.

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	4. Chapter 4: Things My Heart Used to Know

_I do not own neither Anastasia nor Game of Thrones/ASOIAF. Also, here's where Gendry and "Arry" meet!_

_**Chapter 4: Things My Heart Used To Know**_

Arry made it in time to Winterfell before darkness (and the even colder weather) completely took over. She also had this strange kind of advantage since the people around her could just think Nymeria was just an average puppy instead of a dog who would someday grow to be a massive, man-eating thing. Arry was sure she could tame her if she felt like it. Now she was at a crossroads yet again. She had no idea what to do this time since she completely went in the opposite direction Mistress told her to.

Then she saw a gaggle of girls dressed up in their finest blue dresses, similar to that tattered one she wore when she first woke up. Two of them were arguing. "No, I'M ARYA STARK!"

"NO! I AM!"

"PROVE IT!"

She ignored their bickering. Arry started to wander around Winterfell's grounds. Now she started to see more...unseemly girls. Arry shuddered at the thought of going into that line of profession. She then started to fell lost when she took a stairway down. But it was a strange feeling, because she didn't feel lost. Not totally.

"I think I'm going crazy, Nymeria," she told her direwolf. The alley she was in stopped being an alley. She was in a darker place now, lit by torches all over. It was some kind of underground tunnel.

"_Follow me!" _A young male voice told her in her mind. And that she did.

* * *

Gendry was getting annoyed now. It was fun at first seeing a bunch of the girls and whores around Winterfell doing their best Arya Stark impression. None of them knew, however, that Gendry Waters once knew Arya Stark so long ago. All of them pretended to be elegant, polite, and dainty and Arya was none of those things. Arya would yell and scream at you for whatever reason (or any reason, really). She'd call people names. She liked to play with her brothers Bran, Robb, and Jon (and her sort of foster brother Theon) whenever she could, whether it was through wooden swords, archery, and tending to the horses. These girls would have had an easier time trying to act like Sansa Stark, even though Sansa Stark was noticeably harder to physically imitate, as well as the fact that she was never missing.

Gendry knew that the current girl trying to be Arya Stark was yet another failure: he knew it because she couldn't stop talking.

"Okay, next." The girl was visibly angry, but she still left.

The next girl that came in was blonde, tall, husky voiced, and _most likely_ not even a girl. "Sansa. It's me. Arya Stark." That girl left down the coat to reveal an outfit Gendry wished he hadn't seen and would have a tough time unseeing.

"Are you even a woman?" asked Sandor, always one to speak his mind.

"This is hopeless," Gendry said, facepalming. However, Gendry kept onto his hope. "Next one."

There was no next girl. That was it. Gendry sighed.

"I think our efforts are starting to wear down on us," Sandor said.

"We can't give up. We just can't! Arya Stark has to be somewhere in this city. I know it!" Gendry and Sandor left the room to go have dinner inside the palace. Watching and judging girls pretending to be some royal girl he knew years ago was exhausting.

That's when they heard the direwolf bark from inside the secret passage.

* * *

The first thing Arry set her eyes on was of a girl who looked remarkably like herself. She was made of stone and had the same facial features of herself. "She kind of looks like me, doesn't she Nymeria?" The dog barked in return. She stared at the statue a little longer. "Do you think she could have been my family?" Nymeria looked unsure.

An image of herself hugging a faceless, but curly haired young man flashed in her mind. Then she saw people dancing in yet another sudden image. "Someone once held me. I was once family to someone, you know, Nymeria?"

The direwolf barked again. She now saw an older man, one with the same hair and eyes as herself. "Father?"

Nymeria began barking more and more. Arry snapped out of it.

"Hey, who are you? What are you doing here in the catacombs?" Arry made a run for it, with Nymeria on her side "COME BACK HERE!" she was stopped by a gigantic and frightening man with half of his face covered in burn scars.

Arry did nothing but take out her Needle. "I've got a sword and I'm ready to attack! If you come any closer, I swear on the Old Gods and the New." She made a stabbing motion at the scarred man, who just rolled his eyes. Arry decided to heel it and make a run towards the other way. She wasn't expecting to see a much younger man standing right next to the statue.

"Hold it. How did you get...in...in..." He stopped at his words. Then he started blubbering.

"These captors of mine are stupider than I thought." Arry stuck out Needle to the boy's face. The large man apprehended her sword from behind without fear of getting stabbed.

"Sandor. Do you see what I see?"

"No. I'm right behind her."

"Come over here, then and take a look at this brat."

"I AM NOT A BRAT!" Arry insisted.

"What do you see?"

Sandor looked at Arry. Then the statue. Then at Arry again. "Girl let your hair down," Sandor commanded. Arry let her hair down, as it only fell just past her shoulders. "She looks like the girl in the statue...like..."

"Lyanna Stark."

"Lyanna Stark?" Arry inquired. "Her? The girl of one of the Great Noble Houses? That one?"

"Well, yes?" Both Gendry and Sandor said in their own variations, with Gendry insisting and Sandor grunting. Gendry began to circle the girl standing in front of him, who gave him a glare.

"Are you daft? And why are you circling me like some kind of lion? I will punch you if you keep doing that," she threatened.

"What's your name."

"Arry."

"Well, Arry. You just happen to look like Lyanna Stark. And do you know who happened to look like Lyanna Stark as well?"

Arry shrugged. "You tell me, stupid."

Gendry huffed and decided to ignore her. "Arya Stark." Arry couldn't believe her ears. She had that feeling when she looked at the statue as well, but someone else confirming that belief felt rather odd. "I'm Gendry and this is Sandor Clegane. And does Arry have a last name?"

"No. I know this sounds rather strange, but I don't know my background. I was found wandering around in the cold and placed in an orphanage with no memories of what had happened."

"Interesting," he said, but Arry knew that it wasn't sincere on his part. Arry decided that she didn't like him very much. There was something about him that greatly got on her last nerves. It didn't matter that he was pretty decent looking with black hair, suntanned skin, and blue eyes that Arry felt was always on upon her.

"Is that a direwolf?" asked Sandor, who gazed awkwardly at the growling pup.

"Well, this is just too perfect," said Gendry. "You look an awful lot like Arya _and_ Lyanna _and_ you just happen to have a direwolf tagging along with you. It's all just coming along. Say, have you ever been interested in going to Essos?"

"Essos?" She dreamed of going to Essos.

"Yes. Specifically Braavos. Are you interested?"

Arry felt elated at the offer, but she quickly then remembered these two men were strangers. For all she knew they were planning on taking her as a sacrifice to the Children of the Forest or something. "What's the catch here?"

Arry saw Sandor sheathe Needle back in and gave it back to her. He grabbed Nymeria, who took a liking to him for whatever reason. Despite being ugly, rough, and scarred, if Nymeria liked him, then he had to be a decent person.

"Well, we need you to...be Arya Stark, if only for a few days. You come to Braavos. Talk to the girl's sister and bastard brother, make amends, possibly gain family and an adventure to remember and you have money to last a lifetime."

The word "family" was of interest to Arry. "What's the plan?"

"Now we're talking. We go all the way to King's Landing, where the merchants make their stops, get on a boat to Braavos and seek out the Stark girl. Simple as that."

"No, stupid. How are we going to get there?"

"Oh. That's simple. We wait until sundown and our friend Yoren the Night's Watch recruiter will escort us to King's Landing. He's got some spare horses he'd like to lend us and he's got some food supplies."

"Sounds great. No gets gets hurt if they don't realize if I'm not the real princess."

"But what if you are?" challenged Sandor.

"Well..." Arry was at a loss for words then. "Everyone wins. She extended her hand for Gendry to take in as a handshake. He winced when Arry squeezed a lot harder than he expected. Arry laughed inwardly at this.

"It looks like we're going to Braavos," said Gendry. The three of them made conversation as they headed out towards the palace to find Yoren at the bar.

**Please review! Thank you for all of the favorites, views, and alerts! **


	5. Chapter 5: In The Dark of the Night

_What I actually wanted to call this chapter: In The Dark of the Night is Full of Terrors. Melisandre and Rasputin have so many things in common. Even her and the real one! Also, this and chapter 6 will be massively different than in the movie. Just giving you a heads up. I don't own anything. I don't even own this version of Bartok. _

**_Chapter 5: In The Dark of the Night_**

The shadows were stirring tonight. They saw the girl for the first time in years and the Red Woman knew that she had to expose this information. The girl wasn't of particular interest to her at all, not as much as the boy, but she knew that in order to fulfill any of the possibilities she saw, she'd have to go and tell him. He was a vengeful and immature sort, and she did not like cavorting with those types.

She was hidden in the shadows in a place little knew, wearing a red cloak. She liked to think of her shadows being the dark and she the candles in this room that danced. There was a once ancient power located in this same room that could have made her even more powerful, but these dragons had been dead for centuries. Their massive skulls weren't meant to be here, hidden. It honestly looked pathetic to her to have these dragons below everyone everyone else. She remembered seeing them in all of their glory when she was a slave in Asshai.

"What did you call me in for?" The boy asked. To everyone, he was Joffrey Baratheon the First of His Name and King of the Iron Throne. To her, he was just some young bloodthirsty brat who knew nothing of tactic and just swung lazily about. She knew it was because the same same blood mixing into his blood that deterred any logical thought coming into his skull. He was said to be handsome by many with his golden hair and green eyes, but she was repulsed by him. He did, however, have a few uses to him.

"The Stark girl has resurfaced once more."

"Sansa. I knew that little bitch would come back ag-"

"The other one." The Red Woman knew that the boy she was with was more a threat to the throne. She didn't feel like saying much to him, for she didn't feel he was bound enough. His only point of use was that he started believing in Lord of Light and therefore so did the others as it spread throughout his fragmented kingdom. She served R'hllor rightly so. And it wasn't as though that boy was the only threat to the throne. Just because the Young Wolf had been vanquished didn't mean that it was the end of the threats. The Red Woman knew that once you get rid of an enemy, soon two would grow in its place. She knew that all too well.

"So what are you waiting for? Kill her before she sets foot on his soil."

"No. Killing her is not the correct solution. She will lead you to her sister, who will then go to Winterfell. You can reclaim her and reclaim The North you covet so dearly." The didn't bother to explain the missing gaps, only telling him what he wanted to hear.

"But we need to do something, you Red Whore. I don't want them tainting our lands."

She glared at him, her red eyes fierce. The shadows moved in anger. She told them that now was not the time to attack.

"Intimidate them. Make them go elsewhere. If they go to Gull Town, they will reach their destination a lot more quickly."

"Which means I can reclaim my lands a lot faster. Yes..." She gave him a flat smile, which he returned greedily. "Now go and do your job again. I'm tired of being in this bloody Targaryen room already." She didn't understand why the dragon skulls were unsettling to him, but she didn't pay any mind for when he left for his warm bed.

She had work to do. Melisandre called out her shadows and vanished within them, ordering them to take her to her cave. She had work to do.

**Please review! Your words are all too kind (Veridissima and kittyDance, I'm looking at you!) and I get addicted.**


	6. Chapter 6: Little Arry Beware

_I do not own either Anastasia or anything. I wish I did, but I'm just having fun with it (Also, this was the hardest chapter name to come up with, as there are no songs from the train ride in Anastasia and the fact that I've completely deviated from that part, but it's still from In The Dark of the Night). Also, this chapter is rated T for violence. _

**_Chapter 6: Little Arry Beware_**

Yoren was a tolerable fellow. Sandor, Gendry, and Arry liked him for different reasons. Sandor liked him because he respected his stories about the many scuffles he got into. Gendry because he admired his bull's helmet, and Arry because of the way he was honorable to the Night's Watch and that he was loyal to his cause. She didn't enjoy how he kept calling her "boy", though. It was the fifth time since leaving Winterfell that he referred to her as "boy".

Gendry snickered at each and every time. It was lunch during this particular time. "So says the boy with the stupid helmet."

"It's not stupid! I made it myself."

"Well that explains it. Only an idiot would make a helmet as stupid as that," Arry said.

"A bull could trample a tiny thing like you," Gendry retorted, feeling proud of himself. He kept finding himself arguing with this feisty little girl.

"But when a bull is mad, it only sees red. It blurs their vision, making them act blind and pigheaded. They could never get to me."

Sandor was amused by their endless bickering, which honestly provided some entertainment for the meantime as they headed to King's Landing. He tallied it up, something neither of them knew he was doing. Arry was winning by a landslide. He checked off another point in her favor.

"You annoy me," Gendry finally said.

"Well, it looks like we have something in common, finally!" Nymeria growled at Gendry. She was always threatening to Gendry, but she never acted on it by biting him. All she ever did was stare at him and growl menacingly at him, much like her owner did.

"You know, we can always turn back to Winterfell and dump this girl back at the orphanage," Gendry said after taking a bite of the chicken he was eating.

"No! No. I'll behave." Sandor looked back into his scorecard and gave a tally to Gendry. Arry was still winning, but now that Gendry had some leverage on her, Sandor wondered to what extent he could use it on.

"And stop slouching. Princesses don't slouch."

"I do what I want. And what do you know about what princesses do or don't do?"

"I make it my business to know," Gendry said icily. Sandor gave him another mark. Her face fell a little bit. "Look Arry, I only want to help and you're making it a lot harder than it should be. You've already convinced me enough." It was partially true. He wasn't one hundred percent certain she was Arya Stark, but she had that fieriness that could be curbed to the point of convincing her own family. He just didn't have a plan as to how he was going to start training her.

"So do you really think I'm royalty?"

"Think so, I _know_ so!"

"Okay...Then quit bossing me around!"

Gendry left the near vicinity and went over to Yoren, who was at least decent company. "Ugh, women."

Yoren chuckled. "At least she has a mind of her own." Gendry rolled his eyes at Yoren's words. "She must like you, you know. I haven't seen much of women since I joined The Night's Watch, but what I do know is that when a woman acts that way, there's got to be something underneath that. Yes."

Gendry didn't know as to what he was more surprised about-the fact that he referred Arry as a girl for the first time or that he pointed out that she was attracted to him, which was a stupid idea in itself.

He stuck with Yoren until nightfall when they reached Greywater Watch. With the except of Yoren and his few Night's Watch men, neither Gendry, Sandor, nor Arry had ever been there. Arry read in her faded books that Greywater Watch was impossible to find as it was located on an ever-moving swamp. Yored stated at once point that House Reed was loyal to the North, which meant they were loyal to The Night's Watch, so they gave him an access point before they reached the Riverlands tomorrow. It was safe enough for the while.

Their host was a man with sad eyes named Howland Reed. His children perished in the fire ten years ago during the Winterfell ball. He managed to make it out alive, but only because of sheer dumb luck.

Arry was given a nice bed. It was small, but nicer than the one she had slept in at the orphanage for the last ten years, with Nymeria sleeping at the foot of her bed. It had been Meera Reed's room. That night, she dreamed she was Nymeria, running free in the woods of The North. It was a lovely dream and she loathed being shaken out of her dreamstate by Nymeria in the middle of the night. Nymeria had pressed her nose gently into Arry's palm and began licking it. At first she didn't know what to make of it, since it was pitch black outside, but then she heard the voices.

It was Yoren and Howland talking outside. They were whispering loudly, but she didn't know if Sandor or Gendry could hear them. She opened the door to hear what they were saying. Both hers and Nymeria's heads poked out of the doorway.

"Do you really think that?"

"I know I am, Yoren. Lyanna and Benjen were my best friends back then. It's so odd to see them together because I have seen the king and he looks nothing like his father in the way the boy you're with does. It's like I'm seeing double with these children."

"I trust you, Howland, but..."

"You have to take care of them. I don't recommend you going to King's Landing with them. They won't be allowed."

"I can't, but I know what I'm doing. It'll all end up being fine. We're parting ways the moment we get there, anyway."

Howland was silent. "I have such burdens. I have so many of them that I can't let out. Please don't make some for yourself."

Now it was Yoren's turn to be silent. When the silence continued, Arry decided it was time to close the door and pretend to sleep. She was confused at the conversation and was unable to put it together. She spent the rest of the night deciphering what the two men said and drifted to sleep right before dawn.

* * *

Things were mostly uneventful for the first few hours on the road when they reached the Riverlands. The Kingsroad was becoming less and less dense as they made their way through. The plan was for them to spend the night at the Inn at the Crossroads and spend the next day and a half traveling until they reached King's Landing.

A few hours before sundown, Gendry finally decided that he was going to make his peace with Arry. Besides, they had to get on with her training soon and it wouldn't help if they were to keep bickering during it. He ran up to Arry, who was walking at pace with Nymeria.

"Good afternoon, Arry."

"Good afternoon." Nymeria also left out a gruff at the same blank tone she did.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot." _That was a decent start,_ he thought.

"I think so too. I appreciate your apology. Apology accepted."

Whatever peace Gendry's mind made had now disappeared. "I didn't say anything about an apology. I was just saying we started out on the wrong foot."

"Please stop talking," she said in a commanding tone.

"Only if you will."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Okay."

There was a long pause between the two of them and neither of them knew how to handle it. Luckily Sandor came in after talking to Yoren for a bit.

"Oh thank the Old Gods and the New you're here. Sir Sandor, please remove him out of my line of vision." Sandor was taken aback at how formal she sounded. Almost like she was a princess.

"What did you do, Waters?" he growled. He couldn't piss off the girl. If he continued to press onto her, she would fuck everything up for them and the money would be gone. He'd also lose a friend in Sansa.

"What? Me? I was just making conversation!"

"Sure, you and your bull-headedness." Arry gave Gendry a smirk and left the vicinity.

"What is your problem?" Gendry asked his companion.

"My problem? My problem is that you're one step closer to fucking everything up for the two of us. If she doesn't like us, she can sabotage this whole act. I'm not letting your attraction or sexual tension get the best of you."

Gendry was stupefied. "_Attraction_? To that irate little brat? Are you insane? Did the burn marks finally get to you?" Sandor immediately punched him in the face without any remorse. Gendry's nose started bleeding and he quickly wiped it out. His vision became redder and redder as he put on his bull horn helmet. Gendry bent his head and rammed his helmet into Sandor's stomach. Both fell down and started punching the other. Sandor was on top and Gendry squirmed underneath him. Gendry bit Sandor's arm who let out a yelp. Now it was Gendry who was on top of him.

"You two! Stop it!" It was Yoren who kept trying to separate them, but both were tall and strong men.

Arry was more amused than anything. She had proven herself right be Gendry being a little bull of rage.

However, she saw all of the trees rustle and sky darkened. A bad feeling swept over Arry and these three were caught in a fight. She saw shades of black creeping from the trees. It was almost something out of a book at how unnerving this was. Nymeria started barking uncontrollably and Arry was at a loss. The shadows began manifesting from the trees with blades in their hands. They came up to Yoren's few men from behind and stabbed them.

Arry screamed, taking out her Needle. Nymeria got herself into the Sandor/Gendry/Yoren fray barked in their faces, effectively stopping them from their fight. Arry had approached one of the shadows and tried to stab it, but it evaporated. She made a circle, feeling paranoid that it could be right behind her.

"We need to go!" Yoren said, the first to make any sense. He saddled up the few horses they had, which were used in a rotating manner. Arry wasn't a fan of horses, preferring to walk the whole way through. "Take the horses!" There were only three.

"But..." said Sandor. "Are you mad?"

Yoren sheathed his sword. "My men have died and it is time to avenge them. I don't like cheap deaths, Clegane." Yoren swung his sword at the nearest shadow as Gendry took his horse. Arry hesitated to take hers and looked down at Nymeria, who was whimpering, her yellow eyes sullen. Sandor did not want to leave the honorable man behind.

"You're going with her." He lifted Yoren with all of his might and put him in Arry's horse. Sandor quickly got on the biggest one of the bunch.

The path they took was not the way to King's Landing, as the the shadows forced them to veer to the east road. "King's Landing is that way!" Yoren screamed.

The shadows still followed them, never too far behind. Arry was too scared to look as she held onto the beast she was riding as hard as she could, with Nymeria right in front of her. She had unpleasant feelings she couldn't explain stirring inside of the horse. Arry wasn't someone who ever really felt fear, but being on this horse gave her this feeling she couldn't shake out, like she could fall out of it at any moment.

Gendry, on the other hand, periodically checked to see if the shadows were still there: They were. He did, however, get this sense that they weren't going to attack them, not anymore if they chose to get off their horses.

The shadows vanished the moment they reached The Bloody Gate, which meant they were in The Eyrie.

_This was not according to plan_, both Sandor and Gendry thought. Arry, on the other hand, was thinking if the shadows _wanted_ them to go to the Eyrie.

"I think the shadows that followed us wanted us here," she stated out loud.

"Weird," said Sandor. There was a pause. "I don't think we're wanted down South." It wasn't like he wanted to be there. Too many unpleasant memories were there. It was Gendry's stupid idea because of their trading system.

"Then you'd best be on your back. Something malevolent is following you," said Yoren.

"So now what?" asked Gendry.

"There's always Gull Town," Sandor brought up. "They trade the most with Braavos anyway. The trip walking there is a bit longer, but the ship will be shorter. That is, if we don't get intercepted by the Mountain Clans." He wasn't afraid of them. Sandor could easily take out almost anyone or could strike them with fear with just a glare.

"Might as well make this a trip to the Eyrie, meself," Yoren said. "I haven't collected men in a while there." With they, they went, all four of them on guard.

**Please review! Reviews are love! Thank you for liking and favoriting. **


	7. Chapter 7: If I Could Learn To Do It

_I would have updated earlier today, but I've had problems all afternoon logging in. I'm sorry and Merry Christmas (and stuff if you don't celebrate). I don't own anything. Also, this chapter is the halfway mark. _

**_Chapter 7: If I Could Learn To Do It_**

Yoren separated from them when there was a crossroads. He went to the one leading to the Eyrie while the three went towards Ironoaks. They gave up the horses they were riding, with Arry feeling relieved that she wasn't going to ride another horse in a while and would go back to walking.

Without Yoren holding them together, the three of them were at different paces. Sandor was leading the pack, with Arry and Nymeria right behind him. Gendry was last. Gendry didn't like the anger within the group and ran past Arry to get to Sandor.

"I'm sorry for what I said," he apologized.

Sandor didn't say anything.

"I didn't mean to call you out on your scars. I honestly thought we were comfortable enough with each other as companions to not let that get you. It was wrong of me and I was bull-headed enough to say that."

Sandor still didn't say anything. Gendry sighed. He understood if he didn't want Sandor to forgive him. Those scars were not something he wore as a badge of honor nor did he think of them worthy enough. Those were not battle scars.

It had been over ten minutes until Sandor spoke again. "I think it's time we start the training tonight. Sansa is the first one we have to convince."

"Good idea," Gendry responded, glad to have Sandor talk again. "Arry come here." Arry jogged up to them, with her direwolf in tow. It was already hard enough to keep up with them, as they were over a foot taller than she was. "Arry, we need to start your training soon."

"Training?"

"You need to go and convince Sansa Stark that you are her sister."

"What? No one said I had to _prove_ I was Arya Stark! You said that I was going to talk to her!"

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing! I agreed to look decent, to show up, but possibly _lie_ to them is something else entirely!" her gray eyes looked even cloudier than usual.

"Arry, you don't know if it's a lie. What if it's true? I thought you wanted to see the end of this, however it turned out?" said Gendry.

"I do." She stopped in her tracks. "I just...want to be honorable, if that makes any sense."

"Spoken like a true Stark," said Sandor. "Them and their bloody concept of honor..."

"But look at me!" she exclaimed, pointing to her rags. "I do not look like a princess. I look like a wildling!"

Gendry laughed at this, inciting Arry once more. "We can change that. Get your hair cleaned and styled. A nice dress. Anyone can look like a princess. Even-" Arry stomped off before he could finish, with Nymeria in tow. She found herself at a bridge and stared at the water. The reflection behind her was spectacular, as there were mountains coming from everywhere. It made her feel small and insignificant.

"You talk to her!" Gendry said to Sandor.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Who else? A White Walker? It's obvious she likes you better."

Sandor felt a need to make things a little less tense with everyone so he did. He thought for a moment what he was going to say, then it came to him. "Look, kid. I know you don't see a princess looking back at you, but I see something else. You're fiery and engaging and you have a certain sense of command and honor I've only seen with the Starks."

"Hmm," Arry looked unconvinced.

"Look, do you see this sheet of paper? This is how many time you've squabbled against the boy here and won." She counted her landslide tally marks. She won thirty to his three. If you can beat him down, you can beat anything. You've got nothing else left in Westeros." Gendry's tanned face showed up in the reflection.

"He's right you, know," Gendry insisted.

Arry sighed. "Okay. Tell me what to do."

"Well, you were born at Winterfell castle during the Long Summer," Sandor began. They all began to converse as they made their way to Ironoaks.

"You made faces and terrorized the cooks."

"Of course I did," Arry wasn't surprised to hear Sandor say such a thing.

"But you'd behave when your father gave that look," Gendry insisted.

They told her stories of Arya's ways of terror back at Winterfell. Arry recorded them in her mind the most she could, but she was getting so much information at once to the point that she felt overwhelmed.

When they reached the inn at Ironoaks, Sandor put her shoulders back. "Put them back and stand up tall."

"Do not walk, but float," Gendry instructed.

Arry walked her way back and forth across their room at the inn. "I don't feel like I'm floating. I feel stupid."

"No, you're floating," said Sandor. "Bow down." Arry did as she was told with as much elegance as she could muster.

"So what now?"

Gendry took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Both of their eyes met for a second and pulled away in embarrassment.

"Most of all, remember that," Sandor said again. "You're going to be doing that again and again." They tried and tried until Arry fell to her knees in exhaustion in learning how to give a curtsy.

Sandor woke her up in the middle of the night. Arry fumbled her way out of bed and Nymeria took all of her remaining pillows as he led her outside. They were standing in front of the inn, the candlelights across the empty street flickering as they stood. "Take out that sword, girl."

"What?"

"Arya Stark liked to swordfight. Show me what you can do with that tiny sword of yours?" He sheathed his own sword. "I'll go light on you...for now." Sandor gave the first attack and Arry blocked it. Sandor let his guard down. "Good. It's good that you know how to use that with your left hand. Arya Stark is a bit backwards like that. That's another point in your favor."

He then got his sword back up again and taught her basic stands and positions. He could have sworn she was picking this up faster than she was at that remembering shit Gendry was feeding her with. They went at it for an hour or two before Sandor told her it was time to go back to sleep. Arry was crestfallen at this, but understood there was going to be another journey this time to Gulltown.

"Okay, it's time for you to remember all the names of the other Noble Houses," Gendry said early that morning. Unlike the other two, he had gotten a full night's rest. He was easier to put up with then. "Who sits here in The Eyrie?"

"The Arryns," Arry replied. "I know all of this already. The major families are the Starks in the North, The Tully is the Riverlands, House Arryn of the Vale, Lannister is of the Westerlands, Greyjoy at the Iron Islands, the Tyrells at Highgarden, the Baratheons at Storm's End, and the Martells of Dorne," she recited.

"Good," said Gendry. "What's your House's words?"

"Winter is Coming."

"House Baratheon?"

"Ours is the Fury."

"House Lannister."

"A Lannister Always Pays His Debts."

"Incorrect," Sandor said immediately. "That's a common saying, not their words. You still have a lot left to learn." Arry sighed, hoping she'd get out of this.

They kept going all the way until they reached Gulltown.

"Tell us about King Robert's three children."

"Myrcella is their only girl. She looks like her mother, Cersei and is polite. Joffrey is the current king and is blonde of hair and green of eyes. And Tommen is the youngest, he's plump and has a yellow cat that won't stop clawing!" Nymeria glowered as she said this.

"Yellow cat?" Gendry asked in a low whisper to Sandor.

"I don't believe we told her that," Sandor whispered, stunned at the accuracy of that information. Gendry exchanged a baffled look with him.

They spent the night at Gulltown when they learned their ship would depart in the early afternoon. Sandor had once again woken Arry up for extra lessons, but this was with a bow and arrow instead. He had the intention of teaching her how to hold the bow and how to position it and had even embraced the idea of her getting hurt by the bow as many inexperienced folk do, but she held it appropriately enough and gave it a half-decent shot.

She didn't completely make it to her target, but she was in the general vicinity. She had the potential to be just as great as Arya Stark was at it. Sandor didn't know it, but he was slowly being convinced she was the real deal.

* * *

It was Gendry who woke up early that morning. He had woken up early all his life ever since he could remember and the crowds at Gulltown were early risers as well. Gendry didn't have a lot of coins left at this point to spare ever since he bought the boat passages to Braavos on _The Titan's Daughter_, but he needed to get Sandor and Arry breakfast. He also needed to find a way to moderately clean Arry up. Those rags weren't going to do anything for her at Braavos.

Frankly, he was excited at the thought of going to Essos, as he had never gone there before. Sandor told him of the many sights, smells, and sounds, but Gendry wanted to experience it for himself.

"Dresses! Dresses for sale!" a woman said to a mother and daughter who were passing by. They didn't stop, but Gendry walked over to her.

"I need one for...my sister." He wanted to smack his head over how stupid he sounded. His sister?

"Oh, I know this dress that's perfect!" she introduced him to a rather odd green dress that looked like a box more than a dress. "It's all the rage in The Reach. Once Lady Margaery Tyrell started wearing it, so did all of the girls!"

Gendry didn't know what to make of the dress, but he didn't like it one bit. "I think she'd like something simpler. She's kind of..."

"Humble?" Gendry nodded, glad he didn't have to say boyish or anything that wouldn't sound unflattering to her name.

"Well, there is this one dress. It's blue and simple and...how tall is she?" Gendry lowered his knees quite low and motioned his hand at the approximation of Arry's height. "It'll reach down to her ankles. But considering your eyes, she'll look stunning in it." Gendry did not notice her pass at him, instead thinking of how good Arry could look in this dress.

He hoped he made a decent purchase.

**Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8: I Should Have Never

_I do not own anything, nor will I ever own these characters. _

_**Chapter 8: I Should Have Never Let Them Dance**_

"Here. I bought you a dress," Gendry said to Arry when they entered her cabin.

"Is this a dress or a tent?"

Gendry chuckled, suddenly feeling nervous about her liking his purchase. Nymeria chuckled as well. The direwolf curled up on the featherbed and watched the two interact. Arry poked her head inside the dress from the other way.

"Look, Arry, just try it on," he said with self-consciousness. He couldn't explain why he was feeling so apprehensive, but he needed to get the hell out of there. He left her in her cabin to put on the dress.

Sandor was sitting on a table outside, looking at the distance. Gulltown-and Westeros- was disappearing fast. Gendry didn't know what to make of it. Part of him felt like he was leaving his life behind, all he ever knew. And the other part was optimistic. He knew he was going to come back a different man. It was just that Gendry didn't know just how different.

Both decided to play a card game to pass the time. Gendry bought a cheap pack of cards after buying Arry's dress to make the boat ride more interesting. Time passed and the sun was beginning to weaken on the horizon. Gendry wondered what was taking Arry so long, if she managed to fall down while putting on the dress. This, of course, was the reason why Sandor was winning each round.

Sandor looked up to see what was lurking in the corner of his eyes. "You look good, Arry."

"Thank you, Ser Clegane," Arry said formally. Sandor didn't feel like correcting her, as he was no "Ser" in any meaning of the word. He had also noticed Nymeria standing upright behind her. She too, was beginning to adopt some of the schooling Arry was given. Gendry looked behind him to get a look at Arry.

She was stunning. The dress fit her perfectly as it clung to her body. That grey thing she wore did her no favors as it was shapeless and boring. This dress made her face light up and her gray eyes look brighter than ever. Arry had also taken the time to fix her endlessly knotty hair. It still needed work, but it was nowhere near the rat's nest it was.

She stood tall in that dress, almost regal, applying the lessons both he and Sandor gave her.

"Now that the sun's beginning to set, you have one more lesson we have to teach you," Sandor said. He walked up to Arry. "Gendry, get over here." Gendry put down his cards and met them. "Okay, now put your arms on her here."He placed one of Gendry's hands on her shoulder. "The other...here." He put the other hand on her waist. "When I start counting, you dance."

Gendry felt this odd sensation creep up his back the moment his hand met her waist. "Wait a second. Why does it have to be me dancing?"

"Do you know how ridiculous our height difference is, Gendry Waters? Also, I've witnessed more events than you ever did so shut up." Sandor didn't want to tell him that he did very little dancing. Most women weren't keen on the idea of a ridiculously tall and ugly man with half of his face burnt up even looking at him.

Sandor remembered the first time he ever danced with someone. He was standing near the Iron Throne during Joffrey's seventeenth name day, desperate for a drink. He watched Tyrion Lannister in envy as he paced around the halls as drunk as could be. Tyrion Lannister was his form of amusement that night and made him feel less alone.

"Hello, Sandor." It was Sansa Stark, wearing her hair down that night, in a grey gown that perfectly encapsulated her sadness, along with the melancholy tone of her voice. She had grown taller than most women, her bright red hair luminous as a stark contrast to her humbled appearance.

"Good evening, Little Bird."

"I was wondering how you were doing tonight?"

"I'm fine," he responded curtly.

"That's not all I was wondering. I wanted to know if you wanted a dance...with me?"

Sandor gave her a look that read no. "And where is Joffrey right now that can't give you your little dance?"

"His mother has him up in his chambers, saying he needs to go to bed early." She laughed at how despite Joffrey being King, he still had a bedtime. Sandor caught her laughing and shrugged at her words.

"I'll give you a dance."

"Really?"

"No." Her face fell. "I'm joking."

Sandor felt awkward as he placed his hand on Sansa Stark's waist. He had always seen the dancing but never participated in one for himself.

"Here, I'll teach you. Put your other hand right here. You lead the way and I'll follow." Sandor felt even more awkward as he led them around the ballroom. He felt mortified when he felt his leg on someone else, specifically Tyrion Lannister's, who was passed out on the floor.

"Perhaps it'll be better if I lead, Sandor." Sansa said, doing her best (and failing) at trying not to smile. That melancholic inflection had disappeared, now sounding a lot more joyful.

The rest of the dance went much smoothly after that encounter. Sandor felt a new appreciation for the girl he had never felt in anyone before. There was something about her that gave him hope, a feeling he was unfamiliar with until that day.

Sandor now saw these two children standing together, waiting for him to give them the lead. "All right. One, two, three, one, two, three..." Sandor saw the very same mistake he made back during his dance with Sansa. "Arry, you're not supposed to take charge. Gendry, you are. I'm going to start again now..."

Gendry Waters never felt so awkward before. "That dress looks lovely on you, Arry. It fits you very well." He tried not to blush at his own words. He didn't know why he felt this way. He felt like Arry could cut him down to pieces once more and he didn't want that.

"Do you think so?"

"Yes. It was nice enough when I saw it at the store, but it looks nicer on you. You should wear it."

"I am wearing it, stupid."

"I mean, wear it more often. Yes. Sorry, I'm just...I'm just trying to," he stammered.

"Be nice?"

"Of course. Yes." Their dance started to gain more elegance as Arry and Gendry gained confidence in each other's arms.

Sandor stopped counting in a rhythm and the two just kept on going, just gazing at each other like that. He exchanged looks with Nymeria, who then looked back at her owner and Gendry. _Oh shit. They're falling in love. I was not counting on that to happen. I should have never let them dance. _

The two began to gradually stop. Arry was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. She thought it was seasickness finally catching up to her. "I'm starting to feel kind of dizzy."

"Lightheaded?" Gendry whispered, his blue eyes giving her a look of genuine concern. They stopped dancing.

"Yes. Probably either because of the spinning or I might be seasick."

"Maybe we should stop."

"We have stopped, stupid," Arry pointed out.

"Right. Right." Gendry let go of her. "Arry, I-" he stopped at his words.

"Yes?"

Nymeria began to bark.

"I think you've done a great job at all of this. Thank you."

Arry didn't understand what that meant at all and why Gendry was acting a lot stupider than usual. It wasn't frustrating, but she noticed the change in his behavior.

"Nymeria, do you think there's something wrong with me?" she asked her dog when she began to put on her newly acquired nightgown. The direwolf gave her a confused look at first. Then she shook her head. "Gendry's been acting weird, like I'm some kind of sea creature. I don't know." She wanted it to change, but she was oddly okay with it. She brushed her hair for a few minutes before going to bed.

"Well, Nymeria. Good night."

* * *

She was standing in a field.

"Arya! Arya!" a boy a few years older than herself yelled. "Come on!"

"I know you can't catch me!" a younger boy told her, zooming past her.

"Wait for me!" a female voice said.

"And me!" a child's voice came from behind.

Their destination was beautiful. The trees were gray, but their leaves were a bright mahogany. They had faces carved on them. In front of the trees was a large pool. In it were an older couple, a man who looked just like her and a woman with bright blue eyes and red hair. There was another boy there with curly hair, but he was away from them at the other end of the pool."

The oldest boy made a cannonball towards the water. The other girl dipped in slowly.

"Come on in, Arya, the water's warm!"

Arry didn't know what to make of it...she pondered, despite feeling elated. This whole dream gave her this sense of elation. Like she truly, truly belonged here. She wanted to stay forever.

* * *

Nymeria wouldn't stop barking in Gendry's face.

"What?" Nymeria began barking even louder. "What? Is it Arry?" Nymeria nodded.

He began to race around the ship, commanding at Nymeria to stay inside her cabin. He found her at the very edge of the ship at it's railing, holding a wire. Just one more step and she'd be dead.

"ARRY!"He didn't realize it was raining and a burst of water came in and swept him away for a moment. "ARRY!"

Arry began to scream just before Gendry finally got a hold of her. Her arms flailed as he carried her over to safety. He saw that she was asleep.

"Arry. Arry! Wake up Arry!"

Arry kept screaming when she woke up, accidentally slapping Gendry in process.

"I keep seeing faces! So many faces." Gendry had never heard her sound so vulnerable.

He put his hand over her wet hair. "Shh, shh. It's okay now, Arry. You're going to be fine."

Arry then did something unexpected: she hugged Gendry. He didn't know what to make of it, feeling even more confused over it.

"I'll take care of you, Arry. I promise." And he meant his words with all of his being.

**Thank you for all of the favorites and alerts! Review please!**


	9. Chapter 9: Braavos Holds The Key

_Obligatory disclaimer that I own nothing, just as Jon Snow knows nothing. _

_**Chapter 9: Braavos Holds The Key**_

Arry felt prepared as they left the ship. She had never felt so prepared in her life.

"So Sandor? What's Sansa like?" she found herself asking as they were on the way to where Sansa and Jon currently lived.

"She's a good girl. Very delicate." Sandor didn't want to say too much about her in fear of accidentally letting on more than he wanted to emotionally. Sandor liked to believe that he was always in control of himself, but the moment he'd see Sansa Stark again, that was going to unravel.

"Meanwhile, I'm still feeling overwhelmed by the Titan of Braavos," Gendry said. He almost cowered in fear over it, but didn't, luckily. He found Braavos to be such a strange place. For one, there was no trees. Gendry got used to the excessive forests in the North, so this was just the first feeling of displacement of many for him.

"I believe they are in that manor," Sandor said, interrupting Gendry's thought process. "You ready now, Arry?"

"I have to be. There's no turning back now."

* * *

Jon was tired of the girl standing in front of him. Her eyes weren't gray enough to be Arya's and her hair was much longer than she would have kept it. She was also too dainty. Jon almost wanted to ask her if she was good with a bow and arrow, but judging from her clean hands, she had the look of never touching a bow in her life.

"And sometimes, you, me, Robb, and Theon..."

"Went to the Godswood, yes. Yes. Don't you have anything better to do than to waste my time pretending to be my sister? No one's winning at this." The girl looked dejected and left the room crying. Sansa was at the edge of the doorway when the girl passed through her.

"Sorry, Jon. I thought it was really her this time."

Jon gave her a pained look. "This keeps happening again and again. First they thought they found Arya getting married to that Bolton child, but that was just Jeyne Poole. Then there was another Arya who showed up, but that was just Alys Karstark. And now all of these girls..."

"I'll give the next girl better questions. Harder ones. Only ones you or I would only know."

"No. I can't do this any longer. I know she's not dead, but I'm starting to doubt that. Please, Sansa. Do not accept any more girls." Sansa suddenly wished she spent more time with Arya instead of just fighting her all the time.

"I won't Jon, if that's what you say..."

* * *

"Okay Arry. It's now or nothing," Gendry said after Sandor knocked on the door.

A maid opened up the door. "Yes?"

"Hello," Gendry began, but the maid was instantly pulled aside by a tall redheaded girl wearing a navy dress. She practically jumped on Sandor. He was too surprised by her reaction to hug her back.

"Sandor! Just where had you been?" Sansa gave him a look of utter and total delight. She then realized where she was. "I mean. Come in, come in. I forget my manners. I'm just shocked and surprised. Forgive me." Her eyes were on Sandor almost the entire time.

No one was able to notice how Sansa accidentally kept Nymeria out when she closed the door.

"Oh and who are you?" she asked Arry and Gendry.

"I'm Gendry Waters."

"I'm Arya Stark, Princess in the North." Arry felt weird saying that, but she tried to exert as much confidence as she could.

Sansa's face didn't register a single look of recognition, which didn't help Arry's self-esteem. "That's lovely." She circled around her. "Well, you do look an awful lot like her. Grey eyes, ratty brown hair..."

"HEY!"

"Some attitude," Sansa continued. "But are you really Arya Stark, or just another pretender?"

Arry glowered. Sansa began asking questions, such as who were her aunt and uncles. Their family line. Questions about The Tullys and one or two on House Baratheon. Arya knew the answer to all of them. Neither Gendry nor Sandor were particularly nervous about her questions as they watched from the sidelines. They were all what they had gone through.

"I have one last question," Sansa began. "So this is what I want to know, all right? You answer this and I'll see what I can do about convincing my half-brother, because he's the one you have to do the work on. This is an invasive question, but how did you escape the palace's fire?"

Gendry almost collapsed on the floor right then and there. _Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Noooooo. We never briefed her on this!_

Arry was silent. Then she gave a surprised sigh. "There was a boy...a boy who worked in the palace. He was a kitchen boy and opened the walls...Wait a second. That's crazy. Walls opening. No. That doesn't make any sense."

Gendry froze at her words, suddenly feeling trapped. His whole world started to simultaneously go in circles around him and close in on him. _Oh Gods. It's her. It's her. It's her._ He couldn't take it for a second longer and found himself outside of the manor, only met by Nymeria, who was lying down on the stone ground, yawning. He took a place next to her as his mind kept repeating those thoughts over and over.

Meanwhile, Sandor kept his gaze on Sansa. "Is she your sister?"

"She answered every question!" Sandor and Arry exchanged elated glances at each other. Neither noticed that Gendry had left the room minutes earlier.

"When do we get to see your brother?"

"I'm afraid you don't. He simply won't allow it. The pain is too strong for him, Sandor."

There was a silence. Sandor didn't know how to combat this. He was decent at combating everything else.

"However, Jon and I always go to see the Braavosi Water Dancers performing. We never miss it!"

Sandor went running out, finally realizing his companion wasn't witness to what had just occurred. He was surprised to find him curled up in a ball next to Nymeria. "Gendry. Gendry." He put his foot on his knees and gave a light kick. "We're going to see Jon Snow tonight. That money is ours. We're going to be..." Sandor couldn't comprehend why Gendry was so forlorn.

"Sandor...Arry is the missing princess."

"Of course she was. She played the part perfectly well."

"No, Sandor. That story she told. It really happened." But Sandor wasn't paying full attention.

Arry and Sansa ran out of the manor. "Help! She wants to take us shopping. I don't want to!"

"But it'll be fun, won't it Sandor?" Sansa insisted.

Sandor was surprised she threw that question at him. "Sure?"

"I'll go get my belongings! This is going to be amazing!" she zipped inside the manor and took but a few things and quickly grabbed Sandor by the arm, leading the way.

**Let's all appreciate the irony that Sansa is Sophie. Review please!**


	10. Chapter 10: Princesses and Kitchen Boys

_Oh noes! After this there are three more chapters! I don't own anything. Nope._

_**Chapter 10: Princesses Don't Marry Kitchen Boys**_

Shopping was a nightmare for Arry. Sansa had her try on a slew of dresses. She could understand now why Gendry said that Arya Stark liked to mess with her. The only part of the entire thing she liked was eating the Braavosi food. She couldn't remember any time she ever ate that much.

She was forced to leave Needle behind at the Hotel they were staying at and she decided the safest place for it would be under the bed. Nymeria would also have to stay behind as well, but Arry kept her well fed. Besides, Nymeria wasn't a trouble causing direwolf, not unless she was provoked. She was probably going to sleep for the while being. She gave herself a look at the mirror and nervously put on some makeup that Sansa bought her.

Sansa bought everything in dark colors. According to her, the rich had to wear the darkest shade of navy or even black. Sansa bought her a long navy gown that reached past her feet. It was low cut. Sansa brought in a stylist to work with Arry's hair before they left. It was now placed in a high bun, reminiscent of Braavosi culture once more. Her necklace matched her hairpiece, a silver glowing choker that went around her neck in one swoop. She was also supposed to put on gloves as her hands were too rough and calloused. Something still didn't feel right. She looked at the small kitchen knife she pocketed from the area she ate from earlier and tucked it in a strap on her left leg. That was only slightly better.

All in all, she felt...awkward and very much unlike herself. The last thing she did before leaving was to put her coat on. It made her feel more at ease. Only very slightly, though. She said her goodbyes to Nymeria and left.

Gendry was sitting morosely on the curb. This revelation had brought him down. He was well dressed for the first time in his life, and didn't feel the excitement he was supposed to feel.

"Why are you nervous, Gendry?" Sandor asked, once again putting his foot near Gendry's face.

"I'm not nervous, Sandor. We have nothing to be nervous about. She's the princess."

"I know, I know."

"No you don't. What I was trying to say earlier was that _I _was the boy at the palace. _I _was the one who let her and her brother out. She's really Arya Stark, Sandor. Truly."

Sandor just stood in his place. "So that must mean that we're going to get-"

"It doesn't matter anymore."

"Why doesn't it matter? She's going have found her family and a home and-"

"I'm going to walk out of her life forever," Gendry finished. He finally acknowledged what was bursting inside of him for the last few days. He couldn't pinpoint when he fell for her, but he finally found a name to describe what he felt for her the moment she told that story. "Princesses don't marry kitchen boys, Sandor. They marry other nobles or a well-made knight. Much like you."

"I'm not a-"

"Yes you are. And stop trying to avoid the subject. You want Sansa Stark just as much as I want Arry, or should I say Arya."

"You should tell her, Gendry."

"Tell me what?" Came Arry's voice from behind, with Sansa right behind her. Gendry sat up and opened his mouth in amazement.

"How beautiful you look."

"Oh. Well thank you." Gendry offered her arm to wrap around, which she accepted.

Sansa gave Sandor a glance and he hesitated for a moment, fumbling before he did the same.

When it was time to exchange their coats at the entrance, Gendry politely motioned for Arry to let go of her coat. Arry felt self-conscious as her outfit was all too revealing for her taste. She hesitated and gave a sigh, handing the coat to Gendry as she showed the crowd her long navy dress.

He dropped it the moment she handed it to him. "I apologize, A-A-Arry."

Arry felt all eyes on her's and when she turned around, that assumption proved right. If she was in her natural state, she'd have yelled at everyone, but it didn't feel correct to do so. Gendry was instantly at her side in mere moments. She felt a sense of almost immediate comfort to see such a familiar face by her side.

Sansa had left Sandor by himself, promising to see him later that night. He felt disappointed to see her leave but he took company with Arry and Gendry.

"I hope the Water Dancers kill each other," he remarked taking their seats amongst the other ruling class members. Their seat wasn't the best of seats, but was decent enough. The theater was a thrust type stage and they were sitting all the way to the right of the stage, almost at the end, in the middle rows. Everyone would be able to watch the Water Dancers duel.

"You know that's not how it works!" Gendry replied.

Arry loved swordfighting and on any other occasion would have greatly appreciated the fighting of two of Braavos's best swords, Syrio Forel and Jaqen H'ghar and their swift, but elegant movements, but she found herself taking off her gloves and twisting them back and forth over and over again, as if in a trance. She put them back on, wrinkled and all, eventually, when Gendry put a hand over hers, she instantly calmed down.

She tried to look for Sansa in the audience, but it was too dark for her to see if her potential sister was around.

When the show was over, Sandor stayed with Arya as Gendry went to go fetch Jon Snow. Arry stopped him.

"Gendry." She paused. "Thank you. I know we've been through a lot together and I...thank you. For everything." Gendry gave her a small, but genuine smile, which she returned.

She found herself making small-talk with both Syrio and Jaqen along with Sandor about swordfighting techniques. Syrio told her the secret was to catch cats, but Arry couldn't find herself believing it. Sandor said he's make a mental note to try that someday.

Then Arry noticed that Gendry had been absent for a while. She wanted to hear about the God of Death Syrio was raving about, but she decided it would have to wait. She could hear screaming from inside the room Gendry was in.

"Please, Jon. I know you say that you've seen countless Aryas but I know she's the real thing. Trust me when I say this!" Gendry was practically crying out to Jon over this.

"No. There have been countless Aryas. Countless Brans and Rickons. I even had a boy pretending to be Robb back from the dead. I won't have it any longer. I know who you are, Gendry Waters. You served Winterfell at the kitchen and although I was at a lowly position myself, I did not resort to becoming a con artist. What? Did you think I wouldn't hear about the countless Aryas auditions you held? I know you probably taught the poor girl you took here what to say, how to act, I know that in the end, it is never Arya."

"But if you could just listen and see this girl for just a minute, you'd know it was her," Gendry insisted. "We came all the way from Winterfell."

"I've had girls come from the Shadowlands. Do yourself a favor and go away. You're making a mockery out of yourself."

"Guards!" Arry heard Sansa say. Arry moved away from the door to see Gendry screaming to Jon like a madman. He was thrown to the ground by Braavosi guards. He got up to see Arry's face scowling at his.

"You lied to me."

"No. No I didn't. I mean, I first I did, yes, but then things changed, that was before I really, really believed you were Arya Stark. Please-"

Arry felt rage boil up inside her. She wished she had taken Nymeria with him so that her direwolf could maul Gendry's handsome face for her so that he wouldn't be able to charm girls like her. "You used me to get money. Both you and Sandor. I can't believe I fell for it." She left him standing there, baffled.

It took only a second to register that Arry left him. He began to follow her as she disappeared into the crowd. "Arry! ARRY!" She was easy to catch up to. His hand found her arm as she turned back and gave him a punch straight in the gut. Gendry fell backwards, marveled by her strength. She reached for her dress and took out a small, but sharp knife she had taken from a place Gendry could not figure.

"You touch me one more time and I will cut you. Do you hear me?" she growled. With that, she hastily ran away from the theater, with everyone watching as the beautiful girl they stared at earlier run in an angry fit.

Gendry became desperate and Sandor finally caught up to him.

"I'm taking you were unsuccessful." It was a statement. Not a question.

"I have one more trick up my sleeve," Gendry said. He felt suddenly determined and knew this was a hopelessly stupid and suicidal idea, but he came up to Syrio Forel.

"Ser Forel. I need to borrow that for a quick minute." He took the sword Syrio was showing and lecturing others on before the Water Dancer could protest. "It's only for a few seconds!"

Gendry went bursting into the room he was just in when Jon rolled his eyes and Sansa almost swooned. Gendry narrowed his sword and pointed it in Jon's direction.

"Jon Snow, I, Gendry Waters challenge you to a trial by combat."

**Review please! I enjoy reading what you have to say. I would love to see a Syrio/Jaqen duel play out (although this would be hilarious in hindsight if the theory of them being the same person is true).**


	11. Chapter 11: Soon You'll Be Home With Me

_*Disclaimer on how I own nothing, carry on_

**_Chapter 11: Soon You'll Be Home With Me_**

"You know that's not how it works, right?" Jon said.

"Do I look like I know about law? All I care about is that you take one look at her. Just one look at her. Just have one conversation with her. I know I'm not wrong. She's your little sister!"

'If you insist," Jon said, taking out the sword he had strapped to his waist.

"No Jon! You don't have to do this!"Sansa cried.

Jon came closer to Gendry, with his sword out, ignoring Sansa completely. Jon raised his sword and Gendry clashed with it. Gendry knew how to make these weapons, but he didn't have the slightest of ideas on how to use them properly. He also was aware that Jon Snow was the best swordfighter out of Ned Stark's children. He had to figure out how to outsmart him. The only thing was that Gendry wasn't all too smart. The only strategy he had was to outpace him or for a war hammer to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Jon swung his sword horizontally and Gendry ducked. He moved backwards, doing his best to avoid the chairs which were not cleared out. Gendry stumbled upon another chair that he did not expect and fell backwards with Syrio's sword still in hand. Jon Snow had now caught up to him as he lay there.

"Do you give up?" Jon said in a voice that sounded like he barely spent any energy.

"No!" Gendry rolled over to the right and picked himself up. Gendry climbed his way up the stairs where the performance had been. No one was watching, except for Sansa, who was about to fall down and convulse with fear.

Jon swung his sword vertically and Gendry managed to meet it. This time Gendry swung but Jon's force was greater, with Syrio's sword flying then falling across the stage. Gendry gulped, wishing he had his bull helmet on.

"Do you give up?" Jon asked again.

"No. Not until you agree to see Arry."

"You're starting to wear me out." But Jon seemed like he was anything but. Gendry ran off and slid across the stage to retrieve his weapon once more. He went back up to meet Jon, who was still in his place. Gendry went on the offensive and started to strike multiple times. Jon blocked each one with ease.

"Are you done yet?"

"Not until you agree."

Jon gave him an exasperated sigh. "We could do this all night."

"Good. Maybe then I can convince you."

"This is pointless." Gendry's rage persisted and grew as he kept attacking him, never once getting close to making Jon concede, but he had an idea. He lowered Syrio's sword and motioned for Jon to attack. Gendry purposely loosened his grip to have the sword flying once more. Jon expected for him to get it back again, but Gendry lowered his head and headbutted Jon's stomach, causing the two to fall off the stage.

Gendry could hear Sansa's screams permeating the room. Jon had lost his grip on his sword mid-fall and had a wince of pain on his face.

"Do you give up?" This time it was Gendry who asked Jon the question.

"You really have no clue...when to stop," Jon said, his voice deflated.

"What do I have to do for you to get an audience with her?"

Jon shook his head. "I admire your tenacity and your stubbornness. It's obvious you won't stop until I do what you want. I concede."

Gendry's rage went away and an awfully wide smile replaced that. "You mean it!"

"Yes, yes! Now tell me, where is the girl staying?"

* * *

Arry was still mad, but luckily Nymeria was helping her pack. Nymeria bit down on some of the new clothes Sansa had bought her and placed them in her new bag while Arry was gathering some more of her things. She didn't know what she was going to do. She assumed she was going to go to the harbor, get on another ship and make her way Torrhen's Square again where she'd become a fish merchant. She'd sell these clothes and baubles and buy herself a decent living space.

"See, going back to Westeros won't be so bad, Nymeria. I've got it all figured out." Nymeria lowered her head and gave her a low whine.

A loud knock on the door interrupted her thought process. Arry grew angry, knowing it was that lying, cheating, awful excuse of a human being known as Gendry Waters. "Get the hell away from here, Gendry! I thought I told you I'd cut you if you did."

"It's not Gendry," said a voice that was both unfamiliar and familiar to Arry. She froze in her tracks and met with Nymeria's yellow eyes. The direwolf had frozen up as well. "This is Arry I'm speaking to, correct?"

Nymeria sat down on the floor, facing the door.

"Yes..." Arry slowly made her way towards the door, feeling very afraid. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a man with long curls and a sad face. His hair was brown like hers and his eyes gray as well, but a much darker shade.

"I'm Jon Snow. Can I come in?" he asked.

"Sure."

Jon gave the room a quick once over and let his sights gaze on Nymeria. "Is that a..."

"Yes. She's a Direwolf. Her name is Nymeria." Jon reached out his hand to pet the direwolf, who let him touch her. She moved her nuzzle to get her mouth to meet Jon's hand. She started licking him.

"Like the Dornish warrior queen?"

"Precisely."

"Interesting. Arya liked to read the countless stories of the Age of Heroes. She liked the women mentioned in particular."

"I like them too. I used to read a lot in the orphanage I grew up in. They didn't have that many books so I read the same ones over and over again."

Jon gave her a neutral expression, but Arry felt no fear in it. "I'm sorry you grew up in an orphanage."

"Look, Jon. I don't want to waste your time and I honestly don't care about the money. I grew up alone and always wanted to know who I was and if I had a family. I woke up one day with no memory of my past and it bothers me each and every day."

Jon's face fell. "I should tell you that you're the best actress that I've encountered. You even have a direwolf, tamed and all, just like the Starks of legends." He moved his hand up so that Nymeria could stop giving him affection. "Thank you, though and I hope you find what you wish. Good luck on your journey." Jon started to make his way out of the room.

"Well, Nymeria, it looks like we didn't find our family. Help me pack some more. Go get me Needle." She glanced over at Jon, whose hand was on the doorknob and yet, didn't turn it, as though there was something left unspoken. Arry didn't pick up on that, though, as she felt dejected and aimless once more. Nymeria kept staring at Jon's back. "Nymeria," she stated in a commanding voice once more. "Give me Needle." Nymeria still didn't do anything. "Nymeria. Needle. Now!" Nymeria tilted her head this time and gave Arry a quizzical look. "ARGH!"

Jon spun around again to face Arry again. "Needle? What may I ask is this Needle thing?"

"My sword. And since _someone_ doesn't want to hand it to me, I reckon I'll reach it for myself." She made herself go under her bed where she hid her sword. "When I woke up, all I had was this on me. I didn't know how I got it or where it came from, but one day, I just decided to call it Needle."

Jon's mouth went agape. "How old were you when you lost your memory?"

"I must have been around eight, I guess." Arry closed her eyes and saw another image of the curly headed boy she kept seeing in her dreams. Jon matched his description almost perfectly. The only thing was that he was a bit younger and not as solemn as the man who was currently standing in her room.

"The brooch. The direwolf brooch," she found herself saying. "You were going to give Arya the brooch because you were going to join The Night's Watch and wanted someone to have it. And Needle came from you!" She looked straight into Jon's eyes as he tried with all effort to keep his face neutral. It wasn't working.

Arry's head kept spinning as she recollected images and found the pieces in which they belonged. "And then that's when the kitchen boy spied on us. He looked an awful lot like...and then the chandelier fell and..." Arry felt overwhelmed by memories spinning around from every corner. "I'm remembering now. The way that Father would pray in the Godswood and my Mother would keep to her gods. The way Sansa and Septa Mordane would scold me and I'd escape to go running with Bran. He always won. And Robb-"

"Stop!" Jon was practically in tears.

"I'm...I'm the missing princess. I am Arya Stark," she realized, her whole world repairing itself again.

"I still have that brooch." He got closer to her and pinned it on her once more as he did a decade again. He took a good look at his sister. "I missed you so much, Arya." With that, he gave her a hug so tight that it was enough to feel like she was home once more, with Nymeria joining the two by the foot, howling in triumph. She had never felt happiness like this before. It was sublime. In that moment, everything was perfect.

* * *

Gendry was outside the hotel, brooding alongside the sidewalk. He heard Nymeria howl all the way from where he was standing. "Well, Arry, you did it. You found your home." He felt hurt all over and it wasn't because of all of the action earlier with Jon. He felt emotionally exhausted, knowing that the girl he loved would never be his. Not truly.

**Review please!**


	12. Chapter 12: When The World Stops Turning

_I do not own anything. Also, just to be warned, this is a two part chapter with violence. Next chapter is the climax and denouement. _

**_Chapter 12: When The World Stops Turning_**

It was only six days since Arry realized her identity as Arya Stark and she was now at a crossroads over how she wanted to be acknowledged as. Arya had only been around for eight years and Arry for ten. Her ears still didn't prick up whenever Jon called her Arya, which proved advantageous as they practiced swordfighting together. They used wooden swords for the time being, as there was a party Sansa had coordinated to commemorate Arya's return, as well as to honor Gendry and Sandor for their efforts, as they would be publicly rewarded.

Sansa spent the first day writing and handing out invitations to those from Westeros who she liked or felt an obligation to invite as well for other Great Families of Essos. News spread like wildfire that Arya Stark had returned and she honestly felt a little unsettled about it.

Arry managed to block all of Jon's moves to the best of her ability, but because he was superior to her in skill, he usually got his way and won. Her mind started wandering over the subject of Gendry and Sandor, specifically Gendry, whose image stayed longer in her head than she wished for. She still felt guilty for not trusting him when he insisted she was the princess, but on the other hand, she still felt annoyed that he had to go lie to her for money. His bright blue eyes seared into her mind, always watching. She felt her wooden sword flare up in her hand.

"Arya, are you okay? Arya?" She didn't notice until Jon touched her shoulder.

"Sorry, Jon. I'm not used to being called Arya anymore. It's so strange. Just a week ago, I couldn't remember a single thing. I was lost and wandering around, trying to find pieces to pick up. It feels weird not knowing."

"You know I can say the same." Arry's eyes met his. "I've spent days just imagining who my mother was and what she did to break father's rigid code of honor. And that doesn't compare to the days I've spent hating myself for being a symbol of that honor broken. Sometimes I wish it was me that died instead of Robb, but for the last few days I've been thankful to have my little sister back."

Arry started to open her mouth, but Jon interrupted her once more.

"There's something troubling you, isn't it? And I know it isn't the fact that Sansa had the bright idea to throw a party and have you play dress-up with her."

He read straight through her. It was amazing how Jon just knew her like that. She knew she felt the same way about him, maybe that was why Jon was the final obstacle to face instead of Sansa while they were searching for her. Arry couldn't stand Sansa half of the time, as their personalities constantly clashed. Sansa was everything she wasn't. Sansa was kind, courteous, loved to shop and wear all kinds of trinkets. She was nothing like the melancholy girl she heard about through rumors and other sources. She certainly seemed happier now that she was back, which sort of proved a sisterly bond between them. Nonetheless, she still felt a lot closer to Jon.

"I can't stop thinking about-"

"Oh there you are! I've been looking all over for you, Arya!" It was Sansa, who made her way outside into the yard. "We need to clean you up and do the final touches on your dress. Hurry! Nightfall will be coming soon."

Arry rolled her eyes. "Yes, genius. It's going to be nightfall soon. Just as the sun is positioned square and center."

Sansa, however, completely ignored her sarcasm. "It takes hours to get ready, and by the looks of you, even longer." Sansa didn't actively mean what she said as an insult, but Arry felt personally offended and Jon tried not to smirk. Arry shoved him before leaving, which caught him off guard as he fell to the floor.

Sansa's demands were growing more outrageous by the hour. She had her personnel scrape off the dirt underneath her finger and toenails (which hurt), comb through all of the knots in her short brown hair (which also hurt), pulled her hair from every angle so that it could be done in an elaborate bun (which hurt some more), and was scrubbed until her skin turned pink (which burned). Arry decided that she was never going to do this again because beauty, in Sansa's eyes, was pain.

"You look so beautiful, Arya!" Sansa said when they finished the final touches on her body. "And you're not even wearing the dress yet. Oh, the looks on men's faces when they see you. However, I know you have your eye on a certain blue-eyed one..."

Arry felt her back heat up and bile rise up her throat. "What in seven hells are you talking about? I don't like anyone! Not like that!" She wanted to tackle her for being stupid and a girl. For being a stupid girl. Arry's mind raced in a jumble of scattered thoughts.

"Oh, don't be silly. That boy who took you here is handsome. I wouldn't judge you if you admitted that to me."

"But I don't. And he's stupid, not handsome." Arry's nostrils flared as she said this.

"Well...all right then. If you do like him, and I'm not saying you do, but if you do, I wouldn't let him leave like that."

"Oh, because who's to say that I won't be matched up with some idiot prick now that I'm supposed to be a princess?"

"Do you know what Father told me? You were there. Let me clear that memory up. Once, long ago, Father tried to break up my betrothal to Joffrey, telling me I needed someone worthy of me. Someone who is brave, gentle, and strong. And like an idiot-"

"You said you wanted him," Arry finished for her. Sansa gave a light smile. "That was honestly quite funny."

"That applies to you. You're also not the first in line for the Starks, anyway. Bran is."

"But Bran's missing, so it's you. I mean, Jon's a bastard."

"Me? I don't want to run The North! I don't even like politics! I'll legitimize Jon if I have to. Look, what I'm trying to say is that you need to make yourself happy. I know what misery is and I don't want to ever experience that again. Now, let's get you into that dress."

Arry whined.

* * *

While Arry was busy getting ready with Sansa, Gendry was in Jon's study, where he was to privately collect his reward money, with Sandor coming in sometime after. When Jon opened the bag full of money, Gendry almost wanted to look away. Collecting it seemed very, very wrong to him.

"Why are you glum?" Jon asked, half surprised he was somehow the cheeriest person in the room, a fact he did not seem to feel comfortable about.

"I can't accept this," said Gendry.

Jon sighed, annoyed at how he was acting. "So what do you want?"

"Nothing you can give me," Gendry answered.

Jon was getting annoyed with the constantly sullen people he had been forced to deal with for the day. He wondered for a moment if this was what it was like for others in regards to him.

"Why the change in mind?"

"More like a change of heart. Thank you. I should get going." Gendry then bowed and immediately left the room. He was walking as fast as he could to go outside and catch a breath of fresh air. He then collided with someone in a blue dress.

"Hey! Watch where you're go-...Oh. Hello, Gendry," Arry said. Or was it Arya? Gendry didn't know how to address her. She was accompanied by Nymeria, who was groomed as much as she was and standing as tall as she could. Gendry noticed that she was nearly as twice as big as when he first saw her. She was starting to look like she was a threat to others, however, Nymeria showed no interest in attacking him anymore, which he considered to be a great thing.

"Hello, your highness." He bowed down and gave her a kiss on the hand, just as they practiced. He felt like he was both on fire and losing air. She, on the other hand, looked almost entirely flustered.

"Did you collect your reward money?" She didn't know what else to say, as it was as though all of her thoughts just suddenly vanished the moment he looked into her eyes. Then she realized there was something extremely familiar about him and it wasn't that he was the annoying kitchen boy from her childhood. Nevertheless, they also had a haunting quality and she had a feeling that they wouldn't leave her mind during the night.

"My business is complete," he answered. "I'm glad to see that you found what you wanted." She felt like those words didn't ring entirely true but she swallowed it up and nodded.

"I'm glad you were too."

"Goodbye." Gendry gave a small bow and left her standing.

"Goodbye..." She realized that she had suddenly never felt so empty like this in a long, long while.

* * *

Sandor was almost done finishing himself up for the ball when he saw Gendry enter their room and to collect his items. "What are you doing?" he asked him. "Aren't you staying to get honored by the Starks?"

"No. I don't feel like celebrating anything."

"That's a terrible idea and you know it. What about Arry? What will she think of this?"

"I already said my goodbyes to her. I'll see you again in Winterfell, all right?" Gendry gave Sandor a quick pat on the shoulder and left as abruptly as he came. It wasn't until just minutes after did Sandor realize he didn't take the money with him. Sandor was finally alone to discuss his own inner thoughts and the morality of getting the prize money. He liked Arry enough that he would start feeling like he lost a friend. He enjoyed waking her up in the middle of the night to practice swordfighting and archery.

He also didn't want to leave Sansa again. No.

That was why he shook his head when Jon offered him the money in his study.

"What? You too?" Jon was incredulous.

"Things changed. We both grew attached to the girl," he shrugged. "I'll stay for the festivities, I suppose."

* * *

Back when she was Arry, she was a brave girl, by all means. She wasn't afraid to stand up to Mistress for anything, picked fights with grown men a whole head taller, and even befriended a vicious animal, yet she found herself cowering behind the curtains as the party went on now that she was Arya. A fact that was known to Jon, who stood behind her the entire time watching her little sister cower like that.

"He's not there," Jon said, causing Arya to jump back and give her that famous glare.

"Shut up. I know he's not there. I was just-I mean...Who's not there?" She was such a terrible liar. Arya hoped that Gendry would be there, or at least try and eat something. She made up random excuses for why Gendry would stay behind.

"A remarkable young man who found my precious sister. And went as far as to challenge me to a 'trial by combat', I should add."'

Arya snickered. "That's not how that works. Besides, if I know him, he's probably counting his money right now and thinking up ways to spend it."

Jon sighed, debating on telling her the truth about Gendry not taking the money. Nor Sandor. Speaking of, the tall man was standing away from the crowds, looking lost and confused. Sandor Cleagane was a scary man, but at the end of the day, he was human and socially awkward as he watched the people around him dance.

"Since we're observing, I have to ask you, Arya. Do you see the dancing and the elegance? You were born into this world as a Tully and a Stark. Is this what you really want?" Jon knew that despite her being born into this world, she wasn't as willing confined to it and fascinated by it nearly as much as her sister. Arya was wild and free at heart and even though he had gone through a ten year gap without seeing her, he noticed that this hadn't changed.

"Well...I found you. I was looking for you and I was looking for myself. You were all I ever wanted. And Sansa, I suppose." Jon leaned in and gave her a hug. He may have been quiet and brooding, but he knew unhappiness when he saw it. He saw it in Sansa and now he was seeing it in his other sister.

"You know you'll always have me. Forever. I just want to know if it's enough."

When he let go of her, he realized what he had to do. Her happiness meant the world to him and he knew that he had to do that by telling her the truth. "Gendry...he didn't take the money. And neither did Sandor."

Arya's face was stunned. It was something that she just couldn't register. She was completely at a loss for words.

"I'll leave you alone. Feel ready to come out when you can."

* * *

Sandor was standing awkwardly, chastising himself for letting Gendry get away like that. The food had been great, but it wasn't a great occasion when everyone was repelled by him.

"Hello, Sandor." It was Sansa, looking as lovely as ever.

"Hello, Little Bird. Are you here to ask me to dance again?"

Sansa let out a little chime that was the most wonderful noise to his ears. Sandor was grateful to have someone nonjudgemental at his side. It felt right. "Not unless you want to. I like balls because I like to watch people have fun, but I know you're not having fun. Why is that?"

"Gendry left, for one. And second, I don't know what to do after tonight. I promised Gendry I'd meet him in Winterfell, but that doesn't seem right anymore." By the time he finished his sentence, her hand was on his arm.

"I don't want you to go, either, Sandor. The last time you left, I felt so alone. You helped me. You saved me from my life of confinement. Not only that, but you actually went and found my sister. Yes, she can be a bit of pain, but I have her again, in part to you."

"Well, that's-"

"Thank you." She gave him a sudden embrace. "Will you stay with me here in Braavos?" She looked up at him when she asked him, her blue eyes gleaming. Sandor couldn't deny that he loved her and wasn't afraid to look back at his feelings for her. Sure, it'd take some getting used to with these persistent feelings, but this was sweet Sansa Stark. The Little Bird he'd do anything for.

"If that's what you want. I'll stay with you for as long as you need me."

Sansa gave him a wide smile and took his hands. He didn't know if he should bend down and kiss her, but her judging from her starry-eyed expression, he bent down slowly...slowly, reminding himself to cherish this moment when-

**BOOM!**

Their lips never met. Mostly because they were given a sense of déjà vu again and jumped when they saw the doors open wide once more. Except instead of a tall, redheaded woman, it was Joffrey Baratheon who stood at the doorway, all equipped with his own army behind him.

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